Snow and Ash
by pluperfect-shopkeeper
Summary: No one knew just how close the 14th had risen to the surface. Just another Allen-centric drabble-type thing.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**So, I got a pretty good response for Little Jester, I love everyone who left a review, by the way. So here's another little ditty that's been kicking around my computer. Again, reviews are nice, they give me the courage to post.**

Snow and Ash

Crowds parted and rooms silenced as Allen Walker made his meandering way through the Order. He knew they feared him; knew they hated him. But they _needed_ him, and oh how that must have been an unpleasant pill to swallow.

Most of them didn't even know. They didn't know how close to the surface the 14th had risen. They didn't know that the Noah was a constant voice in the back of his mind. They didn't know that the stigmata had already appeared on his right hand.

Only those who were closest to him, who he allowed near when he and the Musician grappled for ownership of the body, when his head pounded with such pain that he expected it would split open, had any idea how close he was. Even then they were overly optimistic.

Feeling the beginnings of one such headache, Allen altered his course and quickly headed for the Ark. He wanted the privacy of his piano room, and he could easily prevent anyone else from entering there, unlike his own room, where he knew he would be carefully observed by Link.

Once he had securely sealed himself away from the world, and only then, did Allen succumb to the pain.

Dropping to his knees, he clutched his hair as a scream tore at his throat.

'Allen Walker! You're Allen Walker, an Exorcist!' he chanted like a mantra, over and over in his mind.

'Allen Walker, Mana's little brother, the 14th Noah, the Musician.' He heard chanting back at him, gaining volume and intensity.

'Mana!' Allen thought, desperately. 'He never saw me, he only saw his brother.' He cried out in anguish as blood began to seep from his forehead, blinding him with red.

He fell forward, slamming his fists into the ground and biting his lip, trying to keep from fainting, but with one final, violent throb of his aching head, he fell into the darkness.

**So... I have a potential second and maybe even third chapter to this. Please review and let me know if I should even bother.**

**Thanks**

**T.P.S.K.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Here it is, the second chapter. Enjoy**

Snow and Ash

No one would ever have noticed that Howard Link was rushing. With his usual brisk pace, his haste was barely noticeable. The truth was, though, that he was nearing frantic. Walker had been gone for far too long. He cursed his lack of attention and, in the deepest, most ignored recess of his mind, cursed his paperwork for distracting him. None of it changed the fact that his charge had given him the slip.

He carefully wracked his mind for any idea of where the boy would have gone. He wasn't in the cafeteria, nor was he in the library. Miss Lee had not seen him, and there had been no explosions from the training room. There was only one other place he was likely to be, but… it was forbidden. Would Walker willingly risk Central's wrath just to escape surveillance for a short while? Link froze in his step.

If Walker had entered the Ark, he could easily escape his surveillance on a somewhat more permanent basis. Dropping all pretences, Link pulled an abrupt about-face and began running for all he was worth towards the Ark gate. His harried appearance startled many members of the Science Department but he simply did not care. He ignored the shouts, telling him he couldn't just run into the Ark; that he needed to present his clearance code to the guards. He knew he would pay for the breach in protocol, but he also knew he would pay a far greater price if Walker fled.

Navigating the whitewashed town like he had lived there his whole life, Link darted towards the piano room. He felt a moment of panic as the soft tinkling of music reached his ears, but he soon recognized the song, and it certainly was not the one used to activate the Ark.

"Bah, bah Black Sheep, have you any wool?" Praying for patience, and chastising himself for panicking, Link pushed open the door. He was not prepared for the sight that met him, though he maintained his composure. "It's impolite to enter a room without knocking first, Inspector." Gold eyes watched him from over the piano. Snowy hair brushed back from ashen skin to reveal a row of crosses, red and painful for their newness.

"Noah." Link breathed in astonishment before quickly collecting himself. "What is your name, Noah?" The creature smirked, making Link shiver to his very core. Such malice had never been present on Allen Walker's face, not even when playing poker.

"Allen Walker."

**I'm not overly impressed with this. This whole story sort of spawned from something I wrote a long time ago that has since been scrapped. Cool idea, poorly written, and presupposed everything that's already happened in this little ficlet. I'm getting there though. Please review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**The final installment. Sorry about the wait.**

Snow and Ash

Allen Walker stepped lightly over the rubble, kicking the odd stone out of his path. He looked up at the sky and smiled dreamily at the ominous, black storm clouds decorating the horizon. The Three Days of Darkness would soon be upon them, and there was nothing and no one to stop it.

He laughed to himself, his soft, musical laugh, as he pondered how easily they had all fallen. The Order, without their shining beacon of hope had crumbled first. Accusations had been made, fingers had been pointed. No one had understood, not that they wanted to, that there had been no saving the old Allen Walker. The young, cursed exorcist had been living on borrowed time since he had been implanted with the memories of the 14th Noah at the tender age of 4. Nothing could have sped or slowed the erosion of his mind, but no one wanted to believe that. They were content to cast stones. Central at Inspector Link for failing to notice the degradation, the Black Order at Central for causing Allen undue stress, the Science Department at the Bookmen for being unable to help.

The Black Order tore itself apart from the inside, and all Allen had to do was sit back and watch.

The Earl was easily done away with. Powerful, he may have been, but Allen was equally so, and a healthy young man with gymnast reflexes would fair better in a fight to the death than an obese old man. Following his demise, Allen once again sat back and watched as, this time, the Noah Clan ripped themselves to pieces in the struggle to fill the power vacuum left in the Earl's wake.

Now, with no one left to oppose him, and the world left utterly undefended, the Apostle of both Gods, the wielder of Innocence and Akuma, called forth the End of Days, anticipating with bated breath the destruction of this wretched world, and the birth of a new one as he saw fit.

The End

**First and foremost, sorry about the wait. Second, thank you to everyone who read and reviewed this travesty. This isn't how I originally planned on ending this, but it wasn't cooperating, so I decided to give up on what I had planned and just see where it took me. It's short, but I don't hate it, and I suppose that's the important thing. I'd just like to point out, to anyone who read the latest chapter of -Man, I so called it, back in Little Jester. T.P.S.K. Out.**


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